Three Important Things We Forget to Do, When Making Resolutions!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s officially resolution season! For those of us who have struggled with accomplishing resolutions in the past, this time of year can feel daunting. Or for some of us, it can feel like a joke. It seems that all around us, people are making resolutions and then abandoning them a month later.

Now, resolutions are great–they really are! Nothing is better than a new beginning, having ambition, and wanting to grow and stretch yourself. But, there are three crucial things people forget to do as they are crafting resolutions:

1. Approach your goals from abundance, not lack

One common problem that comes when we’re making resolutions is that we have a tendency to come from a place of lack. In other words, we craft our resolutions with the belief or the assumption that there is something wrong with us or missing. We sometimes say to ourselves, “I don’t like my _____, so I’d like to be more _____.” OR “I’m not _____ enough, so I want to be more ____.” For me, it used to be, “I don’t like my body, so I need to lose weight. I’m going to work out more.” or “I’m not responsible enough, so I need to get more organized.” For many of us, this is what resolutions sound like.

One hugely important tip to remember is that if you’re looking for success, you should try to reframe your goals from a place of lack to a place of abundance. My resolutions used to worded from a place of what I didn’t have, and where I felt deficient. My resolutions were actually a massive reflection of my lack of self-love. I didn’t value myself, and so I was looking for a goal that would make me feel whole when I accomplished it. Most of us frame resolutions from a similar mindset.  

Sometimes we think that if we accomplish our goals, they will make us feel more confident, and we’ll feel better about ourselves. Now while accomplishing things can help, it’s only part of the story. Really, it is our confidence in ourselves that helps us stay motivated enough to accomplish goals. Sometimes we set goals and resolutions, and neglect our need for self-love. So, make a resolution to work on self-love, and self-confidence, along with your other goals. The more empowered you feel, the more it makes it possible for you to take confident steps in the way of your goals and dreams.

As you’re creating these goals, don’t forget to remind yourself that you are ALREADY amazing! This goal is just merely a tool to help you grow and stretch yourself, but that you are ALREADY whole without it! You are ALREADY capable! And you ALREADY have all the tools you need inside of you to accomplish your dreams! You just merely need to step confidently in their direction. To quote the The Wiz and The Wizard of Oz (depending on which movie you like most):

“You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”

— Glinda, the Good Witch, to Dorothy

 

2. Don’t Forget to Make your Goals SMART

Once you work on reminding yourself regularly of your power and awesomeness, now you need to create a concrete, specific plan to get there. My resolutions used to consist of “I want to work out more, I’m going to go to the gym.” I would then buy a gym membership, go for a couple weeks at random times, then slowly stop going, and then I would beat myself up for it for months, and make myself feel worse.

Now, looking back I realize that my goal was vague and unfocused, and it was actually setting me up for failure from the beginning.

I love this graphic by Sprinters.co, that goes into great detail about how to make your goals SMART.  When your goals are more specific, you can measure your progress on them, they are attainable, relevant / meaningful to your life, and have a deadline, it makes it way easier to track your progress and stick with it.

 

 

3. Regular Check-ins on your goals

To make sure your goals happen, you can’t just set it and forget it. You have to be willing to check in on your progress regularly: either weekly or daily. This is where most of us fall apart. It takes a lot of work and organization to stay on top of new goals.

Remember, you are trying to make habit change and lifestyle change, and that is no small task! Studies have shown that it can take 66 days or MORE to change a habit. So, you need to have patience, staying power, organization, and perhaps an accountability group or partner to keep you on track!  

 

Resolutions don’t have to get you down. Just remember these three important tips, that will help you reach your goals and help you soar!

 

 

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